This invention provides specific sanitizing compositions and methods for improved sanitization of fabrics.
Traditionally, hard-surface cleaners contain bleach as cleaning agent and disinfectant. They generally contain high levels of chlorine bleach to achieve the required cleaning and disinfecting properties.
Research has shown that hydrogen peroxide bleach in laundry and dishwashing detergents also has a disinfecting action and, more recently, detergent manufacturers have become interested in the disinfecting properties of these detergents. Peroxyacid bleach precursors are also known to provide antimicrobial action.
However, not all bleach systems which have sufficient disinfecting properties are suitable for detergents: bleach is not always compatible with other detergent ingredients, such as enzymes, or moreover, the levels of bleach required to obtain disinfecting are too high and may damage the fabrics.
The inventors found that peroxyacid bleach precursors can be the preferred bleach species to deliver sanitization of fabrics during the wash. They found however that a problem with these bleach precursors is that they form the peroxyacid bleach at a high, alkaline pH, but that at such a high, alkaline pH the peroxyacid, which is found to be the active species which gives the sanitization benefits, dissociates to the inactive form, resulting thus in reduced sanitization.
Also, a preferred bleaching ingredient in detergents is a percarbonate salt. The percarbonate makes the solution very alkaline, which is as set out above is not desirable when aiming to keep high levels of the active species, i.e. the peroxyacid itself, and thus the antimicrobial performance thereof. Also many builders provide an alkaline pH in the wash, which is not desirable when seeking an efficient sanitization.
Moreover, many detergent ingredients also require high alkaline pH conditions in the wash, which are not compatible with the preferred pH of the wash required to have a high level of peroxyacid.
Thus it is difficult to formulate detergents in such a way that preferably small amounts of peroxyacid bleach precursors provide efficient sanitization whilst at the same time excellent cleaning is achieved.
The inventors have now found a way to provide efficient antimicrobial performance and or sanitization whilst a good cleaning of both bleachable and non-bleachable stains is achieved. They found that when the pH of the detergent in the wash water is controlled, namely from 8.8 and 9.9, preferably from 9.0 or even 9.2 to 9.85 or even to 9.8, in particular achieved by using specific levels of acid and alkaline ingredients and optionally buffers, excellent sanitization and cleaning is obtained, whilst only limited amounts of precursor are required, making the compositions more storage stable and safer to use. They found that these detergent compositions could then even contain percarbonate bleach.
The specific compositions of the invention are preferably used to effectively provide sanitization of fabrics or, effectively inactivate microorganisms, in particular bacteria which are difficult to inactivate, such as in particular E. Hirae, but also S. Aureus, E. Coli and Ps Aeruginosa. 
The invention relates to laundry or dishwashing detergent composition comprising, at least 15% by weight of a carbonate source and a bleach system which contains at least 2.5% by weight of a peroxyacid bleach precursor and a hydrogen peroxide source, which may include a salt of a percarbonate and may thus be part of the carbonate source, and at least 7% by weight of an acid, preferably an organic acid, more preferably including an organic carboxylic acid, characterized in that a 1% by weight mixture of the composition in demineralised water of a temperature of 20xc2x0 C. obtained after 10 minutes stirring at a speed of 200 rpm, provides a pH from 8.8 to 9.9.
The invention also relates to a method of providing sanitization during the wash by use of a composition of the invention and a method for inactivate E. Hirae, S. Aureus, E. Coli and Ps Aeruginosa. 
The inventors have also found that, when the laundry and dishwashing compositions of the invention are for use in automatic laundry methods, improved antimicrobial performance or sanitization of the fabrics is achieved when the composition is delivered directly into the drum of the washing machine, for example by use of a dispensing device. One embodiment of the invention thus relates to a washing method for washing fabrics whereby a the composition of the invention is introduced into the drum of a washing machine by placing a dispensing device comprising the composition in the drum prior to the introduction of wash water. All documents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference.